A survey in the US has indicated that only 24 percent of those who communicated their complaints through social media received a response directly from the airline, indicating that airlines should be paying much closer attention to the voice of the customer in social media channels.

Published: 26 May 2011

A survey in the US has indicated that only 24 percent of those who communicated their complaints through social media received a response directly from the airline, indicating that airlines should be paying much closer attention to the voice of the customer in social media channels.

According to MarketTools, its study has indicated that a growing number of travellers are using social media channels to voice their complaints about airlines. Ten percent of respondents have used social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to share complaints about poor airline experiences.

The survey featured American adults, age 21 and older, who flew with a US airline at least once in the six-month period from November 1, 2010 through April 30, 2011. Completed surveys numbered 511.

Despite the fact that dissatisfaction with key elements of airline travel remains high, the study reveals that only 30 percent of travellers have ever been asked to provide feedback via a customer survey or other means, and of those customers who offered feedback, 75 percent did not receive any type of follow up from the airline, said Justin Schuster, vice president of enterprise products at MarketTools.

“This represents an opportunity for airlines to do a better job of gathering passenger feedback and closing the loop on customer interactions,” said Schuster.

Quite often it is highlighted that social media provides a direct and open line of communication from the airline straight to the customer.

Not only does it offer a platform for troubleshooting and immediate updates, it also gives consumers a voice, and airlines the ability to connect with them on a personal level, anywhere at any time.

Earlier this year flight price comparison site Cheapflights.co.uk highlighted that with people tweeting and updating their Facebook status as often as every 20 seconds, particularly in times of crisis, the future of social media is looking bright. It mentioned that airlines should seek out top five opportunities as a means of maximising their customer relations in following areas: Customer Loyalty, Deal Tracking, Planning, Sharing & Connectivity, Crisis Communications and In-Flight Communications & Entertainment.

As far as Twitter is concerned, major US airlines, such as American Airlines (@AmericanAir) and Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir), are monitoring Twitter almost around the clock.

eMarketer estimates that 20.6 million US adults will access a Twitter account at least monthly this year, up 26.3 percent from 16.4 million last year. Growth will continue in the double digits through 2013, when nearly 28 million adults will be Twitter users. This estimate is primarily based on a meta-analysis of surveys that polled people on their actual use of Twitter, regardless of platform. A demographic profile of Twitter users from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 10 percent of US female Internet users and 7 percent of US male Internet users used Twitter. The service was decidedly more popular among younger adults, a result supported by other research.

Top Sources of Dissatisfaction

MarketTools’ survey also highlighted a number of sources of dissatisfaction with airlines. Topping the list of areas of passenger dissatisfaction is overall comfort aboard the plane (43 percent not satisfied), followed by ticket prices and fees (41 percent not satisfied) and in-flight service (34 percent not satisfied).

Surprisingly, despite the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) efforts to improve the airline passenger experience by enacting the airline passenger protection rules more than a year ago, commonly referred to as the Passenger Bill of Rights, the majority of passengers surveyed (55 percent) were unaware of these airline passenger protection rules. Moreover, of the 45 percent who are aware of the Passenger Bill of Rights, more than half (55 percent) were unaware of the recent changes to the airline passenger protection rules that took effect just last month.

The majority of those surveyed (54 percent) had experienced at least one of the issues covered by the DOT’s airline passenger protection rules. The top five issues experienced by respondents include:

• Lack of notification about flight delays of more than 30 minutes (28 percent)
• Incorrect/inadequate information about flight delays (24 percent)
• Lengthy aircraft delay on the tarmac (more than three hours without deplaning) (18 percent)
• Lack of airline response to a complaint about flight delays or cancellations (14 percent)
• Hidden fees/unexpected fees added during the ticket-buying process (14 percent)

When asked which domestic airline the respondents believed provided the best customer service, based on everything they knew about the airlines, Southwest Airlines was cited most often, by 34 percent of respondents, followed by Delta Air Lines with 14 percent and JetBlue Airlines with 11 percent. American Airlines and Continental Airlines tied for fourth place with seven percent each.